Scarborough councillor proposes 'no kill' policy for Toronto coyotes

A Scarborough city councillor and animal lover wants Toronto to adopt a “no kill” policy for coyotes living among us.

In a letter to the municipal licensing and standards committee, Glenn De Baeremaeker says recent requests to trap or shoot coyotes in Toronto have been ill advised.

He wants staff to report back on a no-kill policy for the city’s Animal Services division, a clear response protocol for emergency responders, a ban on feeding coyotes in the city and an education campaign to promote “living in harmony with coyotes.” Last month, Toronto police shot and killed a coyote that had been roaming Cabbagetown and, according to police, acting aggressively. Police shot and killed another coyote near Cherry Beach last April. In his letter, Mr. De Baeremaeker asserted that coyotes are “rarely a threat to people.”

He said the last report of a coyote biting someone in Toronto was over a decade ago, “and involved a three-legged coyote (his other leg was dangling from his body) that had been [fed] a boiled chicken daily by a local resident.” Under the city’s existing “coyote strategy,” animal services can try to capture a coyote that is injured, sick or debilitated, or one that is a threat to safety. If that task proves impossible, the city will enlist the help of the Toronto police.